File 2: Injury

 

            “What’s going on here?” 

 

All activity stopped and even time seemed to pause as the fighters turned to stare – with the exception of Ginharou – at a sleepy, bemused Kagome.  Sango, dressed in her traditional taijya attire – plus mask – smirked and rushed forward, drawing her katana.

 

            Mentally cursing, Shiraha leapt over the fallen katanas, a small part of her mind giving a prayer to the Dragon Lords for Kagura’s lack of concentration.  She barreled into the demon huntress, the ryu’s inhuman speed causing them to roll well away from the dazed schoolgirl.  “Ginharou, get her out of here!” She roared, trying to disentangle herself from Sango’s limp form.  Shiraha spared her fallen adversary a glance, relief flooding her system when she caught the rise and fall of the human’s chest.  Death was something she never inflicted without necessity.

 

            “You won’t get away!”  Kagura suddenly shrieked, coming out of her own dazed state at the site of her fallen companion’s body.  Her eyes lit up to a feverish pitch as the wind-borne katanas sprung to life again.  The katanas streaked toward where Shiraha was trying to pry her right arm from Sango’s death grip, the ryu well aware of her left hanging uselessly by her side.  She finally succeeded, leaping up mere seconds before the katanas struck the pavement where she stood.  Three embedded themselves too tightly into the cement, but the rest pried themselves loose and shot straight after Shiraha, their moon lit blades thirsty for blood.

 

            Hearing the sounds of resumed fighting, Ginharou took advantage of the IYE agents’ distraction and burst through the poisonous cloud, gulping much needed air into his abused lungs.  Wiping tears from his eyes he breathed in deeply through his nose.  Confusion, fear, rage, pain, determination, and just a hint of madness bombarded his senses.

 

            Looking up, the wolf-dog watched his partner strip off her jacket, flinging it to the off-white pavement below.  The back of her blouse suddenly ripped open, pieces of the white material fluttering down like snow.  Two, almost impossibly large, white wings sprouted from her back, the appendages covered in miniscule, feathery scales.  Her wings and blouse contracted sharply with the night shadows, and Ginharou hoped she had thought of all the risks through before transforming.  Absently, his mind noted that she had forgotten to remove her shoes, meaning that they had gotten ripped apart by her taloned feet – Hono was not going to be happy.

 

            Shiraha dodged the incoming katanas for a second time and spotted her companion – still standing there.  “Ginharou!  Get Kagome out of here now!”  Ginharou started.  Maybe it was because Shiraha yelled at the exact moment her canines elongated – but it was most likely caused by her use of his full name.  She was serious.  However, the ryu’s momentary lapse of attention as she yelled at her partner was all Kagura needed.  Shiraha had to fight the instinct of full transformation as three of the blades struck home.  It was good fortune alone that kept the weapons from tearing into her delicate wings, but where they had landed caused enough damage.

 

            One katana had grazed her right shoulder blade while the second embedded itself in the fleshy muscle of her right thigh.  The third sword had run her through the middle, and it was only sheer luck that kept it from slicing through any internal organs.  Grunting in pain, Shiraha shattered the second and third katana as close to the tip as possible, discarding the remains.  The first katana had embedded itself in the trunk of a very large tree and it was to this that she ran, leaping up into the branches.  Gasping for breath, she settled down on one of the middle branches of the tree, her talons sinking into the soft bark for support.  She raised a hand to wipe the sweat off her brow…

 

            Only to find none there.  She frowned; her body felt so hot yet there was no sweat…?  An inhuman growl of frustration snapped her head up as she surveyed the scene in the courtyard below.   

 

            Ginharou and Kagome were gone, leaving her alone with the two IYE agents.  Good.  The unknown agent she had knocked unconscious was just now getting up, and the ryu was struck by a sudden feeling if familiarity.  She shook her head – now was not the time to contemplate that.

 

            Looking farther to the right she spotted Kagura laughing, too busy gloating and too assured of victory to actually attack.  Shiraha would have laughed herself if it wouldn’t have hurt so much.  As it was, she nearly elicited a squeak of surprise as her taloned feet slipped off her blood-soaked perch.  She dug her talons and the claws of her right hand into the bark of the trunk to keep from falling, cursing softly as the movement aggravated her wounds.  She wouldn’t succumb to blood loss as easily as a human, but she had to finish this quickly before she lost the strength needed to win.

 

            Shiraha scrambled up the trunk to a higher branch, her hurried movements rustling the leaves as alerting those below to her position.  Kagura smirked, vastly amused by the whole situation.

 

            “A great and powerful ryu like yourself has taken to hiding in trees?  Such a shame.”  She snapped her fan open again.  Fujin no mai!”  Shiraha watched, bemused, as the blades of air sliced through the branches on her right.  Was Kagura missing on purpose?  Her eyes widened in realization.  Of course Kagura was missing – humans couldn’t see well in the dark!

 

            Smirking, she dislodged one of the sliced branches from its precarious perch and threw it toward the well-house.  The two IYE agents’ heads snapped around as the stick made a solid ‘Clank!’ on the cement, confirming her suspicions.

 

            Releasing her strangle hold on the branch, Shiraha allowed herself to plummet toward the ground.  Her right fist was enveloped by a light, sea green glow and only one thought existed in her mind.  ‘Please work.’

 

            “Mizu Ryu Ha!”  She extended her right hand, palm extended.  Kagura looked up, horror written across her face as she stood rooted to the ground.

 

            Nothing happened.  ‘Oh shit.’

 

            The triumphant grin returned to Kagura’s face.  “You lose.”  The remaining three katanas sliced through the air.  Time seemed to slow as the ryu turned, her vision blurring.

 

            Something large and off-white – a boomerang? – collided with the swords a few feet from her face.  Time sped up and she crumpled to the ground, too dizzy to even attempt flying.  She blinked rapidly, trying to clear her vision.  She no longer had the energy to keep head; she was sticky with blood and tired…oh so tired…

 

            “Why did you stop me?!” Kagura screeched.  “I had her!  She needs to die!!”

 

            “Stop acting like a child.”  The clam, feminine voice tickled Shiraha’s senses, teasing her mind with its familiarity.  Who…?  The ryu fought against the lead that had encased her body, her sluggish mind anxious to connect voice to person – if she could only remember…

 

            “She’s a top IYC agent!  She needs to die!”  Shiraha’s fingers twitched even as her head swam – she knew she was losing her grip in reality…she couldn’t even remember whom she had been fighting with.  Was she dying?  An emotion came with that thought.  Fear?

 

            Was she afraid to die?  Yes.  But why?  Her mind struggled to latch onto something solid – something, anything to keep herself focused.  But everything seemed so foggy.  Death, her numb mind mused, what was death?

 

            “You don’t understand,” the familiar voice growled.  What were they arguing about again?  Oh yeah, her.  Shiraha latched her mind onto the voice, trying to hold tight to consciousness.  But the voice was so far away…and the bees were buzzing in her ear…

 

            “What don’t I understand?”

 

            “This!  The reason for her being here!  The IYC doesn’t just suddenly take interest in the daughters of deceased agents!  They must have sneaked one of their own into HQ, and this agent probably knows who.”

 

            “But I want – ”

 

            “Her to die?  Don’t worry – Naraku can think up tortures beyond imagining.  She’ll die in pain, trust me.”

 

            “Fine.”  The curt tone was followed by the snap of a fan.  She could hear footsteps, the sound growing closer, but it took her a full minute to register the pain in her side.  Someone must have kicked her.  “Bleah – I got blood in my boots.”

 

            “Shit!”  There was a sharp intake of breath.  “I think she’s bleeding to death.  We gotta – ugh!”  The loud thud of flesh on flesh was closely followed by the crack of bone against pavement.  Shiraha mustered up the last vestiges of strength to raise her head, squinting to clear her vision.  Who…?

 

            “Who’s doing thi – “ The other voice – Kagura, her sluggish mind tagged – didn’t have a chance to scream as something silver dashed by followed again by the sounds of flesh against flesh.  The ryu’s tired mind latched onto the silver blur, using the last of its energy.  Silver…gin…Gin…

 

            ‘Gin-kun?’

 

            Then blackness claimed her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

             Meanwhile…

 

            Ginharou leapt from rooftop to rooftop, a mere silver shadow, the worry he felt plain on his face.  He had sensed his partner’s fading energy at the Higurashi shrine and so he had dropped off Kagome at a nearby establishment owned by an older IYC agent.  Fortunately, the Higurashi girl had been too shocked to make trouble, leaving him free to come to Shiraha’s aid.

 

            ‘But why?’ One part of his mind argued.  ‘The mission objective was to save Himitsu-san’s daughter at any cost.  Why go back?’

 

            ‘Because Shiraha needs help,’ he explained.

 

            ‘So?’ The voice shot back.  ‘You never went back to help Gintora that day – and look what happened to him!’

 

            ‘This is different!’ He snarled back, emotion leaking into his thoughts.

 

            ‘How?’  The voice became deathly calm, as if it wanted – no, needed the answer.

 

            ‘Shiraha is different from Gintora.  And…I don’t want another partner to die.’

 

            ‘…’ The voice stayed silent for a while, allowing Ginharou peace for a time as he kept his eyes fastened to the rapidly growing shape of the Goshinboku.  He was almost there… 

 

            Finally, it spoke.  ‘That’s not the whole reason, but I’ll accept it…for now.’

 

            The wolf-dog was about to argue when the scent of fresh blood – his partner’s blood – caught his attention.  Adrenaline flooded his system as he leapt over the last few rooftops to land in the shrine courtyard.

 

            There was too much blood…

 

            The IYE agents were knocked out cold – though the one closest to the oversized boomerang was beginning to stir.  He breathed in deeply but he could only smell a minute amount of their blood – the amount present with only minor scrapes and cuts.  Most of the blood here belonged to his partner.  His heart skipped a beat – was he too late?

 

            Then he spotted her, propped up against a nearby tree, a silver tiger youkai leaning over her.  His eyes widened – Gintora?  It was impossible!  He believed in spirits, but it couldn’t possibly be his late partner…

 

            His rational side took over, allowing him to see the physical differences he had missed in his stunned state.  The youkai before him was too tall and broad of shoulder – built for power.  Its claws were thick and wickedly sharp, designed for hooking into flesh, maximizing the damage.  Gintora had been the exact opposite – lithe and small, built for speed.  His claws had been more humanlike in nature – able to tear flesh without getting caught, the ideal for his late partners slash-and-run techniques.

 

            And Gintora’s fur had been of a more metallic, steel gray color while the one before him was, instead, a light, foggy silver.

 

            As if it suddenly became aware of him, the youkai stood, leering at him.  “Oi, Ookami-chan!  Stop growling at me, cub!”

 

            It was then that Ginharou first became aware of the light rumbling in his chest.  Surprised, he clamped his jaws shut, ending in a grunt.  “Kintora.” He murmured neutrally, never taking his eyes off his fellow agent.  After the events a year ago, the wolf-dog would never trust the tiger youkai around his partner ever again.

 

            “My hair’s silver because I just got off assignment.  You’re lucky I was passing by, Ookami-chan, they were about to drag her off.”

 

            ‘And were you going to do something to her before I interrupted?’  The suspicion echoed through Ginharou’s mind, bringing a sudden – and unexplainable – chill.  Keeping an eye on the smug tiger youkai, he edged over to Shiraha’s limp form, gently picking her up.  He discreetly checked for any foreign scents, but the smell of her blood covered everything.

 

            Her blood…

 

            Whirling, he jumped to the well-house roof before leaping out of the shrine.  There was so much blood…would he be able to rush her to HQ in time?  He looked down at her sickly pale face, his ears perked forward to catch every whisper of shallow breath.  If only she had more blood…He looked down at his wrist.

 

            Not even the nightly shadows they raced through could hide the scarlet, life-bearing liquid flowing down Ginharou’s wrist.

 

            Kintora watched their receding backs as they vanished into the night.  His face twisted into a bitter snarl as he rammed his fist into the rough bark of the Goshinboku, ignorant of the splinters stabbing visciously into his hand.  He’d almost had her!  If that damn wolf-dog hadn’t shown up…

 

            Tail lashing, he departed into the night.  A tiger forced to endure the façade of a tame tabby…

 

            Authors Notes ~ I’m really sorry that this chapter got out really late, minna-san, but a lot of shit has happened to me this month.  I went on vacation to Europe, only to come back and find out that my Grandfather’s dying in the hospital – his Lukemia finally took its toll.  He died this Saturday morning at 1 AM, and I rushed to get this chapter out before I hafta go up for the funeral. 

 

            Just wanted ya to know that I wasn’t bailing on you, minna-san, just unable to write for a while.  If all goes well I’ll be posting ch3 in a week or two.

 

            Oh, yes, and don’t worry if it seems that this fic is centering on two original characters – I’m just using them to bring Kagome into her role.  She’ll be back in ch3 with a larger part, and by ch5 it’ll be almost completely from her perspective.  And chapter three will start answering some of your many questions, such as ‘ Who the hell are these people?!’

 

            You can send questions, comments, praise, critisism, death threats, etc etc. to [email protected] or [email protected]. A warning to all flamers: all flames will be used to toast my muses and force them to work faster.  Thus, your attempts will actually be counterproductive! ^_^

 

Mitsuu: You know, this means that those crazies out there that actually like this fic will now flame to get the chapters out faster.

 

Shinnite: I…hadn’t thought of that. ^^;;

 

Mitsuu: Baka…~_~